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By Henry Uche
In its resolve to see the end of gender-based violence (GBV) in the country, Tabitha Empowerment Centre (TEC) has trained frontliners of GBV whom it regards as “Anti-Gender-Based Violence Community Champions.”
The three-week of intensive training was part of activities of the anti-GBV campaign funded by the Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which kicked off May 14, 2022, with trainees drawn from Kurudu, Jikwoyi, Nyanya, Kubwa, Kuje, Orozo and Karu communities of Federal Capital Territory.
In a remark, the founder/executive director of TEC, Christina Uzo-Okamgba, stressed the need for collaboration among individuals, traditional gatekeepers, faith-based organisations, civil society organizations (CSOs) and government agencies towards eliminating GBV in the country.
She added that the community champions would be inaugurated at the grand finale of the anti-gender-based violence campaign scheduled to hold in September 2022.
TEC founder enjoined the community champions to leverage and maximize the information conveyed at the training session in their day-to-day engagements with victims/survivors of GBV.
“Information is essential in everything we do. It’s needed for planning, decision-making and even policy design. Thus, as you garner knowledge from the quantum of information delivered today, please, use it maximally.
“Being empowered and commissioned means they would work closely with TEC from their various communities to escalate cases of GBV, which means, if they see something of this nature, they would provide interim support to victims, by first mitigating the impact of such violence, deploying the skills/knowledge they gained, transferring the case to Tabitha, where we take it up for further actions.”
Uzo-Okamgba added that the champions would join forces with Tabitha to spread awareness via sensitization, especially to the hinterland, at different places like motor parks, markets, local and communal spaces, sports arenas, and social groups, among others.
“These anti-gender-based violence community champions will be working in groups under specific team leaders From TEC. We have support units in strategic places for easy coordination. The message is to ensure preventive measures against GBV,” she said.
At the training, a team of lawyers, led by Hosanna Gani, Esq, taught the trainees extensively about the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP) 2015, focusing on spousal battery, rape, and others.
The trainers led the trainees on how to identify the various positions of the law regarding these offences. More so, they provided information on how victims/survivors could seek redress in court when such violence occurs.
Similarly, Mr Odoh Nonso Emmanuel (nurse/midwife) led trainees to identify the various forms of sexual and physical violence. He also provided information on various medical procedures that could be adopted in response to cases of gender-based violence.
More so, a session on “De-escalating Situations Through Dialoguing; A Mediation Guide” led by Adamma Chigozie Isamade (Lawyer) sensitised the trainees to mediation as a potent tool in handling disputes.
Trainees were schooled by Peace Abel (Medical Doctor/Licensed Therapist), who facilitated the session on, “The healing process for survivors of GBV.”
Here she emphasised the importance of psychosocial support/rehabilitation and the difficulties faced in ensuring survivors complete various therapy sessions were addressed.
The training ended with Mr Obi Peter (Lead North Central at Men Engage Nigeria) who emphasised the role of men and boys in eliminating GBV. He stressed the need for gender equality and reiterated the roles of parents, traditional institutions, and faith-based organisations in eliminating all forms of discrimination against the male and female gender.
He stated that the various ideologies infused in children are largely responsible for the increased spate of GBV in the world today.
“Parents and guidance must be careful about the kind of orientation, ideas, concepts and ideologies they plants in Children. We should use unfortunate stories to educate our children on the dangers of indulging in such vices. We must note that the results of any bad behavior transcends beyond what we can imagine,” he added.
